Survival of the Fittest
by TearStainedUzumaki
Summary: A training exercise set up by Tsunade turns into much more for Naruto, Ino, and Hinata. From Day 1 to the end, their relationships change as secrets are revealed and friendships are put to the test. Will they be able to come together to complete the trials or will new found emotions tear them apart before the break of dawn? InoNaruHina, possible lemons. Short Story!


_Yeah...I'm typing this before updating my profile, but I'll probably put a bit more detailed explanation regarding everything on after this or before I post it. Those of you reading my other stories (Mainly Beyond the Horizon and Hope Will Never Die) it's been either a year or almost a year since the latest updates. The main reason was due to changes in my life, being moving from one city to another and then back after three months and then entering into Job Corps. For some reason, Fanfiction is blocked on those government computers so I have no access to the site. Not to mention that I'm currently studying for the IT field and I have no time to really type anymore. Now I understand you're wondering why I'm posting this if that's the case, and the reason is I'm having a bit of writers block when it comes to those two stories. I'm trying my hand at a few one shots and short stories to see if I can get the creative juices flowing again. So until then, I hope you enjoy these few stories until I can get back to my main projects._

(NOTE: This story will either be two or three chapters long, and may contain a lemon or two.)

* * *

Chapter 1: Budding Friendship?

"Alright everybody, for this exercise, we're going to split up into groups of three. Everyone will have random partners and they will need to stick with them for the remainder of this trial." At the end of Tsunade's speech, the genin, and Shikamaru being the only chunin, looked amongst each other, having hopes of who they want to be partnered up with and who not.

It had been only two weeks since Tsunade had been brought back to Konoha by Jiraiya and Naruto. The Hokage had some sort of epiphany the night before apparently and had decided to pit her youngest generation of ninja in a series of trials to test their competence. If any of them had half the balls as her Naruto, then this shouldn't be too hard. So far these trials consisted of a race around Konoha, won by none other than Rock Lee, an information gathering challenge, surprisingly tied between Shikamaru, Shino, and TenTen, and finally a survival exercise.

"What a drag, I'm sick of this already! Why can't we just go home and do this some other time? Or better yet, I'm a chunin, why aren't I exempt?"

Tsunade shook her head at Shikamaru. "Sorry but you're still part of this group for a bit longer. As a chunin, you'll have more responsibilities now, so just think of this as a head start on your duties."

"I better get paid for this then..." The shadow user grumbled. Chouji patted his best friends back but otherwise remained silent, somehow eating a bag of chips with only one hand.

The others in the area, being all of the Konoha 12 and four distinct older shinobi just sweatdropped at Shikamaru's attitude. The other four shinobi were Ibiki Morino, Anko Mitarashi, Iruka Umino, and Genma Shiranui.

"Ano, Hokage-sama. Wouldn't it make sense just to put us in our genin teams?" Sakura asked, though her real hopes was just to be paired with Sasuke. Ever since he and Naruto had fought on top of that roof, he had seemed a bit more distant. He only started opening up to them again recently, more so Naruto though. Said Uchiha had his arms folded as he listened to the pointless drivel. He didn't care who he was paired with, as long as they wouldn't hold him back in this exercise.

"That wouldn't make any sense at all Sakura. You all need to get a good feel for the rest of your comrades as well, not just your own teammates. Once you all grow in rank, you won't always be teamed up with your old team anyway, understand?"

Sakura frowned, not at being told she was wrong, but at the thought that she wouldn't be paired with Sasuke, and on a smaller note, Naruto. Another blonde perked up at this information however. Ino playfully stuck her tongue out at Sakura, inner-Ino doing a small dance of victory for somehow knowing she was going to be paired with Sasuke. "Don't worry forehead, I'll take real good care of Sasuke-kun."

"Can it pig! Who says you'll get paired with him anyway!" Sakura growled. In truth, she was a bit afraid that she would somehow.

Tsunade cleared her throat to stop the argument before it could get too far. "Settle down. I'll be calling out the names of the teams now. One of those four behind you will be standing by to take you to the designated area where you will be performing this exercise." She paused to see that everyone was paying attention to her again. "The first team will be Shikamaru Nara, Rock Lee, and Shino Aburame, your instructor will be Morino Ibiki."

Shikamaru visibly paled while Rock Lee and Shino seemed less than enthusiastic to hear that. Ibiki just smiled darkly before motioning them over. "Come on, let's get this over with. "

"The second team will be Sakura Haruno, Kiba Inuzuka, and TenTen Hiroshi. Your instructor is Iruka Umino."

Sakura groaned and glared at Kiba. "If you try anything, I'll skin you alive flea bag."

Kiba just frowned and scoffed at Sakura. "Whatever. Not like I'm interested in an evil flat chested sadist banshee anyway."

Iruka, sensing the impending danger that Kiba was in stepped in right away, just as Sakura was drawing her sleeve to kill the boy. "Uh, hey! It's good to see you guys again! We'll be underway as soon as Hokage-sama finishes explaining the details, alright?"

Kiba shrugs, unaware of the fact that his life had just been saved. TenTen shakes her head. _'This isn't going to end well.'_

The Hokage continues calling teams. "Team three is Neji Hyuga, Sasuke Uchiha, and Chouji Akimichi. Your instructor is Genma Shiranui."

The instructor from the final portion of the chunin exams steps forward, a senbon still being clicked between his teeth. "You all were impressive during the chunin exams, but this may or may not be a lot worse. I hope you're all prepared." The team itself didn't seem to have any problems, though Chouji was a bit at a loss since he had the biggest figure, but his ego seemed to be the smallest among the trio.

"Finally, team four will be Ino Yamanaka, Naruto Uzumaki, and Hinata Hyuga. Your instructor is Anko Mitarashi."

Ino almost screamed. She had no problem with Hinata, but she had to be paired with _Naruto_? Plus, they had a psycho snake lady as an instructor! The only thing that would've made it worse was if Kiba was on her team. She looked at her two soon to be teammates and rose an eyebrow. For the first time she realized that Naruto had been awfully quiet. He was leaning against a tree, a bit away from the group and had his head down, his arms on his knees. Her confusion was soon shared by the others and they all looked towards the usually exuberant boy.

"Is everything alright over there Naruto?" Tsunade called. Naruto looked up as if he had only just now realized that he wasn't alone. He looked around with cloudy eyes before shaking his head.

"I'm fine..." He mumbled and went back to his thoughts. Ino folded her arms and tapped her feet.

"You better not make this worse than it is Naruto! You have to pull your weight too!"

"Ino, leave N-Naruto-kun alone." To her surprise, Hinata had come next to her and partially scolded her. Her voice wasn't loud but the tone made her realize that Hinata was a bit upset. The slightly angry look on her face confirmed it.

_'What the heck's wrong with her? Geez, she's the luckiest one here! She's got a crush on that idiot and he doesn't even know it...that's it! At least I'll have something to do now! I can get Hinata and Naruto together before this exercise is over! That way forehead won't have her friend zone guy to fall back on when Sasuke rejects her again and Hinata will finally get her man!'_ Ino adorned a grinch like grin at her thoughts, completely freaking Hinata out and having said girl slowly inch away from the chuckling blonde.

"Hey brats! Bring your asses over here, we don't have all day!" Anko's voice interrupted Ino's evil/matchmaker scheming. She and Hinata walked over to Anko but Naruto remained sitting where he was. Anko looked over at him with a sullen expression and didn't say anything. Ino, however, had other plans.

"Baka! Didn't you hear Anko-sensei! Get your ass over here!" She held her head in frustration. "This is what I'm going to have to deal with?" Both Anko and Hinata both glared at Ino, willing her to shut her mouth.

"Sorry..." Naruto mumbled and stood to join the others.

After all the teams were together, Tsunade addressed them one last time. "From the moment you are escorted to the drop zones, you and your teams will be alone and the exercise will be started. Your instructors will be watching you, however, they have been told not to step in unless you fall under enemy attack. Which means if you die of natural causes, that's on you and your teams. Once you became genin...no, before that even. Once you decided to be ninja, you were supposed to be taught that death may and will be a natural occurrence for you. Whether it's you, a comrade, or someone extremely close to you, anyone could die at any given moment. I pray that all of you make it back alive on this mission, but I am prepared if you all don't."

The teams all frowned, the death of the Third Hokage and so many others still fresh in their minds. Genma looked down as well, giving a silent prayer for his fallen brother-in-arms, Hayate Gekko.

"Once you get to the drop zones, you will be subject to the rules of the wild for one entire week. You will be given a set amount of supplies as deemed necessary by your instructors. If you are in danger of an enemy attack, your instructors will step in and you will be escorted back to the village. Other than that, good luck out there. Teams, you are dismissed!"

"Hai Hokage-sama!" They chorused before being shunshined away by their instructors. Shizune stepped up beside the Hokage.

"Tsunade...did you really mean they could die out there? Are you sure this is alright?"

"You know better than anyone Shizune. They are ninja, and they will need to experience hardships like this. They had their first taste of war during that invasion and even though it was nothing compared to the second shinobi war, it was still gruesome. The sooner they learn that it's only the beginning the better."

Shizune frowned at her words and looked out over the village. _'Be safe Naruto-kun...happy birhtday...'_

* * *

The team consisting of Anko, Naruto, Ino, and Hinata appeared outside of the village. Without a word, Anko turns towards the trees and begins to take the high road. The genin follow in silence, something that Ino was definitely not expecting especially with Naruto and Anko around. With their senior officer focusing on the path ahead, she turned her attention to her teammates again. Hinata was following closes to Anko, but Ino caught her sending worried glances in Naruto's direction every now and again. Naruto himself seemed to be mechanically traversing the trees, his gaze down from what she could tell from beside him. It was so solemn and she was starting to wonder what had everyone so down.

Thinking back to the other trials given to them, Naruto had been eerily quiet for the entire time. He had spoken few words to anybody, even his own teammates. She knew it couldn't have been because of the Third's death. He had been acting fine a few days ago. But since yesterday, he had seemed to withdraw into himself. For a moment, she wondered if she should use her shintenshin to see what was wrong with him, but then realized she was worrying over Naruto of all people. Knowing him, he was just upset that he didn't eaten enough ramen or something.

"Alright brats, we're almost there. From here on out, we'll be shunshining so you don't get the thought that you'll be able to easily get home if things get too hard. Come here."

The group slowed to a stop and converged around Anko. She grabbed onto them all in a sort of a bear hug and shunshined into the middle of the forest. After a short pause, she did it again. Then one last time until they were deep in the jungle, not having a clue which way was which. Anko let go and fell to her butt. Shunshin used a lot of chakra, especially when used consecutively like that. Naruto went over to her and grabbed her hand, helping her to her feet.

"Thanks Naruto." She said, a glint in her eye that made Hinata narrow her eyes at the older kunoichi. Noticing a rising in the tension Anko took a step back from Naruto and chuckled nervously. "Okay, this is where you all will set up camp. I'll help with this part, but after that you are on your own. Your supplies are in this bag." She dropped a large bag full of scrolls. "There's a map in there as well. Your goal, starting tomorrow, will be to reach my own encampment, which will be labeled on the map. Get as much sleep as possible tonight, because if you want to reach my camp before the week is up, you're going to be moving a lot. Naruto is the leader for your squad so what he says goes alright?"

Ino's mouth almost dropped at that. "What? Why is Naruto squad leader? We're going to be dead before nightfall!"

"...She's right, I don't think I should lead this Anko-cha...Anko-sensei." Naruto spoke dejectedly. Hinata and Anko frowned, more so Anko at Ino though. Ino looked at Naruto as if he had grown a second head. She didn't expect that from him.

"Maybe you're right if you're going to start doubting yourself like that gaki! Hinata, you're in charge then. I thought Naruto would be able to take the lead, especially after I heard that he was the one to defeat Gaara at the chunin exams." Anko's statement was accusing, and Naruto hung his head lower at her words.

"Yeah right! As if Naruto could take on the one tailed! Sasuke-kun is the one who beat Gaara!" Ino didn't see the flash of anger that passed over Hinata's face, but she did see the disgust on Anko's.

"Listen here you little pre-madonna bitch, Naruto is the one who beat Gaara, that is a fact. Sasuke himself admitted to this. If you would get your head out of his ass, you'd see the world for what it is. No wonder you didn't even make it past the prelims in the chunin exams. I don't even see how you're a genin. Who knows, with luck maybe Lady Hokage will send your ass back to the academy where you belong. Maybe then you'll actually learn something about being a real kunoichi." After Anko's rant she turned from the group and shunshined away, too disgusted with Ino to even think about helping them set up camp.

Naruto and Hinata looked away when Ino's shocked gaze turned to them. They both went about grabbing the materials to set up camp silently. Ino swallowed the lump that was forming in her throat and slowly began to help as well. No one said a word to each other until two tents were set, and a small fire pit was in the midst of being built. Naruto was picking up decent sized stones after Hinata had dug a bit of the earth up. Ino just stood watching the two work, still lingering on what Anko had said no more than an hour prior.

"Naruto-kun, can you go get some fire wood please?" Hinata asked as she noticed Ino doing nothing. Naruto halted what he was doing like a machine, dropping the stones he held where he stood and ventured deeper into the jungle. Once Hinata was sure he was out of ear shot, confirmed with her Byakugan, she turned a serious glare on Ino, making the platinum blonde flinch. "Ino, what the hell is your problem?"

Ino was shocked to hear Hinata speak like that. Not only that, but she hadn't been stuttering at all. Maybe it was the position of leadership. Either way, she was a bit intimidated by this Hinata. "Wha...what are you talking about?"

"You know what I'm talking about! Why are you being so mean to Naruto-kun? Why do you hate him so much?" Hinata was organizing the stones Naruto had dropped around the fire pit, trying to keep herself busy so that she wouldn't completely snap on Ino.

"I...I don't hate Naruto...he's just annoying..."

"What about him is annoying Ino? What has he done to you today? Or at all for that matter?"

Ino paused. Actually, he hadn't done anything at all to anyone that day. He was quiet and reserved, two things she couldn't comprehend him being. She realized that she had been constantly tearing him down when he seemed to be wanting to just fade away, and for a moment it made her feel bad. Even worse, when she looked back on her past relationship with the other blonde, she realized that he had done absolutely nothing to her. They barely spoke to each other. She was basing everything she knew of him off of the academy, almost an entire year ago. He was obnoxious, loud, annoying, and an idiot back then and that's the only way she knew how to describe him.

"...I don't know." Ino answered honestly. She couldn't say that he was still the same Naruto from the academy, even though apparently she hadn't grown up herself. He had even beat Kiba and then Neji at the chunin exams.

"Of course you don't! And now you're going and making him feel even worse on his...never mind. Just...lay off Ino. If you actually try to get to know him, you'll realize that Naruto-kun is one of the bravest and most caring people in this world." Hinata hadn't realized that she had almost started crying when she was speaking to Ino. She sighed and stood, seeing that she was done with the fire pit until Naruto returned with the fire wood. She shook her head and went into one of the tents, leaving Ino to her thoughts.

* * *

Inside her tent, Hinata wiped away tears. She didn't realize she was getting so emotional about this until then, and cursed herself for letting her emotions take hold of her like that. She was so sick of the way Ino and Sakura talked down on Naruto. Sakura had actually seemed to back off, at least a bit, but she hadn't been around Ino lately. Now that she had been, she realized Ino was just as dumb as she was in the academy, if not more so. She took a few moments to calm herself down completely and to walk back out of the tent to see that Ino was sitting next to the unlit fire pit with her knees pulled up to her chest. She seemed to be deep in thought with a hurt expression on her face. Hinata wouldn't bother her, wanting her to think for herself finally. She activated her Byakugan again and noticed Naruto was coming back, his arms full of branches and dry leaves for the fire.

When he re-entered their make shift camp site, Hinata smiled and welcomed him back. He gave a weak, almost forced smile back and dropped the materials into the pit. "Does anyone know any fire jutsu?" Naruto asked. Hinata's expression dropped when she realized she didn't. She was so caught up in scolding Ino that she forgot that Anko didn't leave them any matches or anything. A flicker caught her attention though.

Ino was over the fire pit, a small stream of fire coming from her mouth to the dry leaves and sticks. Naruto and Hinata both looked impressed at the girl. Once the fire was lit, she looked at the two, a faint blush on her cheeks. "...I learned it...to impress Sasuke..."

Naruto's impressed gaze was replaced with sadness as he turned and went towards the edge of their camp. Hinata gazed sadly after him.

"Naruto-kun, is everything alright?" She asked, just to break the silence that was about to fall. She knew what was the matter, but she didn't like how he tuned everyone out.

"...I'm fine." He mumbled again. "I'll take first watch, you two can get some rest. I'll get dinner too and wake you up when it's done."

Naruto spoke in a way that left room for no arguments. Even though Hinata was the leader, she was still too shy to have a further conversation with him, nor to tell him no. Ino looked at Naruto's back with a bit of apprehension before going into the tent Hinata had went in earlier. Hinata followed silently.

"Hinata...do you know what's wrong with him? He seems like...he's in a bad mood."

Hinata shot Ino a gaze that said 'no shit sherlock', but answered anyway. "Today...if I tell you, will you help me with something Ino? It involves being nice to Naruto-kun." Hinata trailed off and suddenly seemed eager. Ino cocked an eyebrow but listened anyway. She was in a bit of turmoil at the moment anyway. She had started to think that maybe she was being way too judgmental of Naruto. She wanted to get to know him as him, not the academy kid she had thought she knew.

"Okay, I'll help."

Hinata looked at Ino to see if she meant it. As far as she could tell, Ino was still having doubts after what Anko and herself had said to her. "Today is Naruto-kun's birthday."

Ino's eyes widened at that fact. That hadn't even crossed her mind. The more she thought about it, the more she realized that Naruto always became more somber around this time of year. 'So he's upset because it's his birthday?'

As if reading her mind, Hinata continued. "Naruto-kun hates his birthdays. Since the day I've known him, he's been alone on his birthday. There have only been a few times Naruto has enjoyed his birthday and that was because the third Hokage was the only person to go see him."

"So Naruto hates his birthday because he spends it alone?" Ino thought that was a pretty sad reason by itself. She hadn't realized it went far deeper than that.

"That's...that's not it Ino. It goes so much deeper than that...but I can't tell you why. Only Naruto-kun could tell you."

Ino rose an eyebrow. What more could there be? The way Hinata made it sound was as if something terrible had happened to Naruto...

"Well...what do you need help with Hinata?"

* * *

**October 10th (End of Day 1)**

Naruto sat in a tree, as high as he could possibly go and still be able to see danger around the area. He had sent some clones out in the jungle to hunt for some food and edible vegetables. Ayame had taught him about wildlife that could be edible, and even some poisonous plants that could be cooked in such a way that they were edible. He wasn't a master chef so he avoided them at all cost until he could get the ramen chef to teach him a bit more. He also sent out a few clones to recon, and had them dispel themselves at certain points so that he could get an up to date view of the surrounding area. It wasn't as useful as the Byakugan, but it was the best Naruto could do.

While waiting, he had hoped to find Anko, or that the special jonin would join him since he knew she was watching. But another part of him wanted him to stay alone. The only person he had ever spent this day with was the Third Hokage, and once Iruka. He could tell that Anko and Tsunade were worried about him, but he was actually surprised to see Hinata acting just like them. Though he felt pitiful today, he couldn't help but think of the bright eyed princess. She had scolded Ino over him and was acting like she truly cared for him. He remembered giving her encouragement during the chunin exams and wondered if that was why she was being nice to him. Then he remembered that she had given him that healing ointment before that...maybe Hinata had always been trying to be his friend. She was just so quiet that he never realized it until then.

_'I should thank her...she's a nice person, if not a bit weird.'_

The blonde blushed a bit, thinking of her smile. He couldn't deny that Hinata was pretty cute, and he had formed a tiny crush on her during the chunin exams. But thinking someone like Hinata could ever think of him in that way was just far too farfetched. It didn't take much or long for him to almost completely forget about her again. Now that he was on this pseudo-mission with her though, he wanted to see if they could be friends. But not today...just not today.

With Hinata and Ino, the two were returning to the camp, unbeknownst to Naruto. Each had a shady smile on their face as they approached the tree the blonde was keeping watch in. "Naruto-kun, come down here!" Hinata called.

Naruto dropped down instantly, eyes scanning the area for something wrong. "What happened? Is everything all right?" Looking around and then at the faces of Ino and Hinata trying to hide their chuckles, Naruto calmed down. "What are you two doing?"

"We need you back at camp for something. Just come on." Ino grabbed Naruto's wrist and Hinata grabbed the other, bringing a small blush to the jinchuriki's face.

They lead Naruto to the camp fire and plopped him down, still letting him stew in his confusion. The two stood on the opposite side of the camp fire looking at him with the same half smirks they had when they retrieved the older boy.

"Okay...what's going on here?" Naruto asked starting to get suspicious.

Ino and Hinata made one hand sign and both called 'kai', unleashing the genjutsu that was on the area.

"SURPRISE!" Many familiar voices called out.

Behind Hinata and Ino stood Anko, Tsunade, Shizune, Ayame, and Teuchi. Naruto's eyes widened at the group and his brain couldn't process what was going on fast enough. The group all moved around the fire, Ayame being the first to make it to Naruto and scoop him up in a hug.

"Wha? What's going on here?" Naruto asked, half giving Ayame a hug, half freaking the hell out.

"Happy Birthday Naruto-kun!" Hinata called. "We wanted to do something special for you, but this is the best we could do in the middle of a jungle."

"You...you knew it was my birthday?" Naruto asked in shock. Hinata blushed but nodded anyway. Then he looked around at all of the other smiling faces, finally landing on the sad smile of Ino. "You too?"

Ino was against answering at first, opting instead to look away from the blonde. "...Yeah..." She lied.

"We just wanted to let you know that you're not alone Naruto-kun." Hinata spoke.

"We're here for you, no matter what. You don't need to be sad any longer Naruto-kun." Shizune moved to his side and placed a small kiss on his cheek, making himself, Ayame, and especially Hinata burn bright red.

"We were always here for you Naruto-kun. I just wish you would've come to us all these years instead of isolating yourself." Ayame moved to Naruto's opposite side and did the same as Shizune. Naruto didn't know if he could turn any redder.

"I was almost just like you gaki." Anko started as she moved towards him. "I spent my birthdays alone for a few years...until I became friends with Kurenai-chan and Ibiki-sama. They brought me out of that funk I used to get in and since then, I've been happy ever since. I know it goes a lot deeper for you, but we don't want to see you like this when you have people willing to help you." Anko smirked deviously as she leaned in towards Naruto. Instead of on the cheeks, however, she pulled his lips right into contact with hers.

"A-Anko!"

"What the hell Anko!"

"Ah! Anko-sensei!"

Ayame, Shizune, and Hinata all called in that order. Ino herself was now blushing heavily while Teuchi was scratching his cheek, mumbling something along the lines of 'lucky kid'.

Once it was over, Naruto stood in a daze, a dreamy smile on his face. "...I'm starting to like my birthday." The group chuckled at that. Tsunade clapped her hands.

"Alright already, everyone can saw what they want to the gaki later! We came here to celebrate and we don't have much time. I'm making an exception just this once for you Naruto, but after this, the exercise will be back on okay?"

"Okay baa-chan." Naruto said and sat down along with everyone else. Soon, all of the Naruto clones that had went to gather food returned to the camp, surprised to see so many familiar faces. Ayame and Teuchi got up and went to grab the food so they could make a real edible meal along with the stuff they had already brought. The clones ended up helping while everyone else conversed around the camp fire.

"So who's idea was this anyway?" Naruto asked.

"It was originally Hinata's idea." Shizune answered.

"But I had Ino and Shizune help with the genjutsu." Hinata finished. "We have presents for you but Tsunade thought it best to give them to you when we return to the village. That way Jiraiya-sama and Iruka-sensei can give you their presents too."

"They were in on this too?" Naruto asked, getting nods from everyone else. Naruto smiled brightly, giving his first real smile in a long time. "I don't know what to say...thank you Hinata-chan...thank you everyone. This is more than I could have ever asked for!"

As the group fell into idle chat, Naruto noticed that Ino wasn't really speaking to anyone. She had her knees pulled up to her chest again and her head down.

"Ino, you okay?" Naruto whispered to her. Ino looked up at Naruto with the same sad expression from earlier. She shook her head and smiled.

"I'm fine Naruto..." She paused. "And...I'm sorry."

"Sorry for what?"

Ino looked away again. She stood up and walked towards the edge of the camp. Naruto took the que to follow her. He stood slowly, not drawing any of the others attention and followed Ino until she was out of ear shot of the camp. Ino stood with her back to Naruto, hugging herself. A pale glow of moonlight struck her, making her platinum blonde hair seem almost silver, and even more beautiful in the moonlight. Naruto almost gasped at how her skin shined in the moonlight as well, almost making her look like an angel.

"Ino?"

"I'm...I'm not sure what's wrong with your birthday Naruto-kun..." She paused, realizing she had added the endearing honorific subconsciously. She didn't mind though. It honestly felt nice to say. "But I'm sorry for how I've been treating you lately...or in general. I don't even really know you and I said all those terrible things about you and to you in the academy. I was so hung up on Sasuke that I hadn't realized that I was hurting other people around me, including you and Sakura."

Naruto was caught off guard by this. Was this what Ino had been thinking of earlier? Had she come to this conclusion on her own in a short few hours?

"I...I want to become your friend Naruto-kun. I want to know the real you, not the person I saw in the academy. We all have to grow up...I'm only realizing now that maybe I'm the only one who hasn't."

She froze on spot when Naruto suddenly wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her back into his chest. She hadn't realized that he was a bit taller than her now. She gasped, held her breath and turned red all at the same time.

"N-Naruto-kun...wh-what are you doing?"

"...Ino-chan...before you decide to do this, there is something I need to tell you and Hinata-chan. We need to go back to the camp, alright?"

Ino could do nothing but nod as Naruto released her and took her hand, leading her back to the camp. She was blushing so much and wondered if Naruto realized the way he was acting with her. Once back at the camp, the others had obviously noticed the two were gone. Hinata looked at the two in confusion while most of the others looked with knowing smirks.

"Everyone...I have to make an announcement. More so for Ino-chan and Hinata-chan. I'm sure the rest of you know about my...tenant already." The only person Naruto expected not to know was Ayame, but she nodded that she knew. Her father had told her about it when she was a bit younger and had made Ayame swear that she wouldn't see Naruto any different for it. He didn't need to worry because she went the opposite direction anyway. It didn't take much for her to fall for the blonde jinchuriki.

"I...I know as well Naruto-kun." Hinata spoke up. Naruto once again found himself in a state of shock.

"What? But how?" He asked, his eyes full of fear of Hinata rejecting him, not thinking that she had already accepted him anyway.

"I put two and two together a few years ago Naruto-kun. Your birthday is the same day of the festival, and my father told me the truth about that battle all those years ago."

Naruto frowned but saw that Hinata didn't care. If she had known for years, then she could have truly been one of the people he let into his life. It made his stomach hurt, noticing now that maybe it was him that didn't pay any attention to her. So that left Ino...to his amusement, the girl was looking around the group in utter confusion.

"Naruto, if you don't want to do this, you don't have to..." Tsunade spoke softly. Naruto shook his head.

"I do have to. If me and Ino-chan are going to be friends, then she has the right to know...so do the others, and I plan on telling them all once we get back to the village."

Ino was starting to worry. What was so important that it had to be kept secret from everyone else? Naruto let go of Ino's hand and walked a bit away from the group. After a moment of silence he sighed. Taking a bit more time to collect his thoughts, Naruto turned back towards the group.

"Ino-chan...besides my birthday...what else is today?"

Ino frowned up at the question. It was October 10th so... "The Kyubi festival?"

Naruto nodded. "14 years ago from today, we were taught that the Fourth Hokage fought and defeated the Nine-tailed fox, the Kyubi. But the truth is, he could not defeat it and protect everyone in the village at the same time. The Fourth Hokage had to seal the fox away at the cost of his life."

Ino already knew where this was going now and her heart skipped a beat. She wasn't stupid, and the pain in Naruto's voice hit her like kunai constantly piercing her flesh. "N-Naruto-kun..."

"The Fourth...Yondaime sealed the Kyubi inside of me, the day I was born. When he died, Sarutobi-jii made a law that prevented anyone who knew of speaking of it, and especially of telling me or those of my generation. They thought it would protect me from scorn and that I would be seen as a hero...lot of good that did right?"

His sad chuckle wasn't shared by any others present. Ino looked at the others. "You...you all knew?" One by one they all nodded.

"I found out the day before our last day in the academy Ino." Naruto continued. "You remember I failed the exam back then."

Ino nodded. She wondered how Naruto was allowed to be a ninja if he had failed the genin exam.

"The truth is, that very same night, Mizuki-teme came to me and tricked me into stealing the forbidden scoll from the Hokage's mansion. He said if I did, I would be able to become a genin even after failing the test. I was so naive and wanted to be a ninja so badly that I believed him and did it. It's also the way I learned the shadow clone jutsu. Anyway, when I had escaped the mansion, Iruka-sensei found me and soon after, so did Mizuki-teme. He...he told me the reason why the village hates me so much. He said that I was the reincarnation of the Kyubi, the monster that destroyed families and killed so many people, including everyone's beloved Yondaime. I...I believed that too. I believed that I was a monster and could do nothing but stand there as he tried to kill me with a giant shuriken. I was so shaken that I couldn't move and when I could, I didn't want to. I just wanted to die since I thought I was a monster and monsters don't deserve to exist."

Naruto was starting to cry, but no one moved to comfort him. His fist were clenched and they knew he wouldn't want anyone to give him pity. Ino felt a lump forming in her throat again as she listened to this story. She knew even Sakura didn't know of this story since she had never spoken about it. It meant Naruto had never told anyone else about it. It looked like no one else present knew of the story either, including the Hokage.

"But...Iruka-sensei saved me. He jumped in the way of the shuriken and was stabbed in the back protecting me. I couldn't believe he would give his life to protect a monster but...he told me I wasn't a demon. He said that I was myself and that the fox was it's own separate entity. Iruka-sensei made me believe that I was human...and that I was someone important to him. I thought he had died. I thought that the very first person to see me for me had died and I wanted to scream. But Mizuki just laughed and took the other shuriken and tried to kill me again. I...remember creating a lot of clones and beating Mizuki for what he had done to Iruka-sensei. After that, I found out Iruka-sensei was alive and he gave me his head band. It made me feel...like I was actually loved. Like how I felt tonight with you all..."

Naruto stopped, having dried his tears a long time ago. "So...if you don't want to be my friend Ino-chan, I can undestand. I-"

Before he could finish, he was talked to the ground by a blur of purple and blonde. Ino was sobbing into his chest from the ground. "You baka! Of course I'll still be your friend! I had no idea...I didn't know how much you've been through already Naruto-kun! I'm sorry...I'm so, so sorry!"

Through his entire story she was thinking about how Naruto was treated by not just the academy teachers but the village as a whole. Naruto had endured years and years of torment from his own home, all because they were too scared to look past that day 14 years ago. They still saw Naruto as the Kyubi and she and others her age had treated Naruto the same way because of it. If she had known, things would have been so much different. She hated herself and the village for this, and couldn't stand the thought that Naruto had suffered for so long alone.

Naruto cradled Ino as she continued to sob into his chest. He didn't know she would feel this strongly about it, but it made him feel happy that she didn't reject him. He looked over to Hinata who was smiling warmly at the scene. They would need to talk. Even Naruto hadn't known Hinata knew the truth. If that was the case, then he had some making up to do with her. Yes, she hadn't made herself known to him much, but the few times she did, he all but completely ignored her.

"...The food is ready everyone!" Ayame called, breaking the sad atmosphere. Everyone's stomachs began to growl at that moment, including Ino's. She smiled and chuckled through her tears before removing herself from Naruto. The group was silent for a bit longer before returning to normal conversations and enjoying each others company. The night would end on a better note than it had started and everyone would be content with that. Naruto wasn't depressed any longer and knew he had others that he could rely on now. As the night drew to a close, Tsunade and the others made their way back to the village, leaving Anko and the other genin.

"Well that's all she wrote gaki. You all can get some sleep now, I'll give you all a few more hours to get ready for the exercise tomorrow. See you in a week." Anko turned to leave but her devious smirk appeared again. Just before she shunshined away she turned to Naruto and kissed him on the lips again. "Later!" She called and vanished.

"Dammit Anko-sensei!" Hinata yelled into the jungle and even Ino looked just a tiny bit jealous. Naruto chuckled at their antics and was starting to notice a pattern. Somewhere deep inside his head, a light bulb clicked on about why Hinata was getting upset when Anko kissed him. But he would pursue those thoughts tomorrow.

"Hey, let's get some sleep. We've got a big day ahead of us tomorrow." Naruto called heading towards his tent with a genuine smile. Ino and Hinata fumed but agreed. They smiled back at Naruto and headed towards their shared tent.

"Good night Naruto-kun!" They called in unison before vanishing into their tent.

"Good night girls..." Naruto called back, a warm feeling entering his stomach. "...yeah, I think I'm starting to like my birthday now."

* * *

_I initially planned on this being a one shot but it became too long for me to leave as one chapter. I'm extremely busy today too so I won't have time to keep typing it for now. Tomorrow I return to the hell known as Job Corp, so I don't know when the next chapter will be up. If I get time off on the weekends, I'll be happy to come back and post the next and possibly final chapter for this to give you all that closure you probably want. Until then, however, let me know what you think about this. If anyone wants to discuss this or any of my other stories in more detail, shoot me a pm. I'll reply when I can and your cooperation is always appreciated._

_Also, if it's requested after next chapter, I'll turn this story into one of my main projects and have it go through to shippuden years and give even more closure. It will be a separate story all together and this can be seen as the prologue. But, that's far in the future. So until then, Stay real, FF._

-_TSU_


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